


Some kind of Henry/Joey collection

by Book_buried_Batter



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Henry and the Ink Machine
Genre: Angst, Cw some body image issues, Fluff, LOOK ONE OF MY LEGENDARY TITLES, Look this is probably gonna be a really gay collection, M/M, Nsfw in chapter 10, along with some slight body horror, detailed description of injury in chapter 8, its also really fluffy tho, murder in chapter 12, not canon murder but murder nonetheless, tw slight gore in chapter 6, youre welcome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-02-16 10:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13051893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_buried_Batter/pseuds/Book_buried_Batter
Summary: So chapter 5 of Bendy and the Ink Machine is finally out... Yes, we got to see Joey's face, no, none of what we saw was real... But here, in my own personal AU, it is. You would not believe how relieved I am to find out Henry and Joey Drew aren't related. Anyway, please enjoy what I have of this fic! I'm always accepting prompts, though I may not use all of them, and I really appreciate any feedback you can give ^.^





	1. Running never solved anything

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt "Running never solved a damn thing!". This is the story of why Henry left.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the story of when Henry left, pre-game. The animator just needs a break. (Based on the prompt "running has never solved a damn thing!")

Henry’s hands are curled into fists at his sides, his nails digging into his palms hard enough to leave crescent dents. Mister Drew stands behind his desk, stunned and staring at Henry in disbelief. “So… that’s it, then? You’re just going to leave this… everything we built? Just like that?” Henry’s boss asks.  
The animator nods slowly. “Nothing is going right here anymore. The deadlines are too close together. You’re docking paychecks and letting workers go left and right. Mister Drew, we can’t keep-”  
“Don’t ‘Mister Drew’ me, Henry! You know me! You love me and you can’t even say my name?” Joey’s voice sounds as though he’s going to cry.  
“Joey…” Henry starts again, quieter now. “Joey, I do love you. I loved what we were doing. I’m just so burnt, the studio is failing-”  
“Well running away has never solved a damn thing!” Joey slams his hands down on his desk as he yells. “What am I going to do without you? The studio will have to close!”  
“I don’t know! I don’t know what you’re going to do without me! Joey, I need a break! From this studio, from this town! I need a break!” Henry yells back, something uncharacteristic of him. His hands are shaking now.  
“Fine, then, go! Just get out of here if you care so little!” A tear rolls down Joey’s face and Henry can feel his heart break.  
With nothing else to say, he moves to the door, looking at Joey one last time. “I haven’t fallen out of love with you, Joey. Just this work. I’m sorry.” He shuts the door as an empty mug is hurled in his direction. He doesn’t linger by the door at all, just makes his way to the exit and home to pack away some of his things. 

Years later, he stands before Joey Drew again, beaten, tired and starved. He leans heavily on the doorframe of the apartment they once shared. Joey’s voice is frail when he says, “You left me in a heartbeat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joey, just offer to take him on a nice vacation, damn! Oh wait you're broke lmao  
> Oh, and I'm also taking prompts for these two! Help a guy out, maybe?


	2. Hallway Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of the story of how Henry and Joey met pre-game. Not really how I see it happening tbh, but I was inspired by the song Hallway Dance, video by Sven Otten (JustSomeMotion) on YouTube

Henry was not sure why he had even come to this club. At first, it was to dance and meet people, but once inside, he remembered he was not a good dancer- nor was he comfortable around people. And this place was full of them. He was worried about sweating through his white button up, worried about looking worried… In an attempt to push down his anxiety, he took a long drink of the iced tea in front of him on the bar, draining the glass. He shifted to look out over the dance floor. The band on stage was playing a cheery tune, the people around them happily swinging to it. There was a space, though, he slowly realized. Everyone had made room for a man with dark hair swept into a wave on top of his head, his feet moving gracefully and impossibly fast, and he danced alone. Henry was wondering why when the man's dark eyes locked on his own, and his movements slowed. Hastily, he looked away for fear that he had broken the man's rhythm. But when he looked back, the man was dancing towards him, a hint of a smirk on his face. Then Henry feared he had somehow upset him and began looking around for a way to get out. He didn't find it before the man was in front of him. The thumb of one hand was hooked under his suspenders, foot still tapping to the beat of the song. His other hand was extended for Henry to take. Against his better judgement, he put his own hand in the man's palm. In an instant, Henry was on his feet, being pulled back towards the dance floor with a spin. The man, he realized, was nearly a foot taller than him, and much thinner. But he was smiling full on. Henry found himself staring at his feet rather than the man's face after a moment, struggling to keep pace and avoid his new partner's toes. Then his hand was brought up into the air and he was sent for a twirl, which he realized half a moment too late. He completed the movement and stumbled a bit as he finished, catching himself rather suddenly by grabbing onto his partner's shoulder with his free hand.  
The man chuckled, his other hand almost hesitantly resting on Henry's hip. “You don't dance often, do you?” He asked over the band.  
“Uh, no, not… not really.” Henry even stumbled over his words now. He could feel the eyes of the crowd on them, judging. This wasn't right.  
“Well there's always time to learn! Here, let's slow down.” The band's song slowed and stopped as he spoke, but they quickly picked up a new one. “I'm Joey, by the way.”  
“That would be great, Joey.” Henry replied, watching Joey's feet slow. He was able to slow with them, finally matching his pace. “My name's Henry.”  
“It's nice to meet you, Henry.”  
********  
Henry couldn't possibly explain how he had ended up behind the club with his lips locked with another man's. Joey had walked him through two more dances, then realized how out of breath Henry was and took him to sit down. They had both ordered a drink, which Joey had offered to pay for, but neither had alcohol. In fact, neither of them had a drop of alcohol all night. And then when Henry said he was going to go home, Joey offered to walk him there. Henry happily accepted, really wanting to get to know the man more. That's when Joey had lead him behind the club, gently backed him into the wall and kissed him full on the lips. He had indeed given the shorter man every chance to push away and stop him, but he didn't. It was awkward at first, due to Henry's surprise. Joey didn't seem to care. His lips moved softly, his hands on either side of Henry's head.  
After a few moments, he pulled back with a smile, leaving Henry breathless and blushing. “You're cute, Henry. Real cute.”  
Henry's eyes shifted away from Joey's face and down to where his hands rested on the man's chest. “That's ridiculous…”  
“But true.” Joey pressed his lips to Henry's again, but only for a second. “Say, how would you like to come home with me, Henry?”  
Henry's face was instantly nervous. “For… for the night? Gee, I don't know…”  
“You don't have to. But if you don't, you've gotta give me your phone number.” Joey reassured him.  
Henry thought for a moment. “You know what? Why the heck not. Sure, let's go to your place.”  
********  
Joey lived in a little house at the end of a block. It had a small yard with an unkempt garden in front and in the dark, it looked gray, but the light on the porch showed a pale green where it illuminated. Said man was beaming the whole walk back from the club, which was short. Henry was able to note just how far away his own apartment complex was from there. He had held Henry's arm the whole time too, letting go only to unlock his front door and hold it open for the other man.  
Once they were inside, Joey's lips were on Henry's again, and they somehow ended up on the couch. Henry was on his back, Joey straddling his hips and kissing him hard. One of his hands cupped Henry's cheek, the other on the couch next to his head for support. Henry's arms wrapped around his neck, his heart pounding so loudly he thought Joey would hear it.  
But when Joey started to unbutton his shirt and kiss down his neck, his nails dug through the fabric and he started to squirm. Instantly, Joey sat back, concern written on his face. “Sorry, is that too much? Do you want me to stop?”  
Slowly at first, Henry nodded. “I… I'm sorry, Joey, I know that's probably all you wanted, I just-”  
“Henry, it's okay.” Joey's voice was soft, understanding. “You don't owe me an explanation. You don't want it, it's fine. I want to get to know you, I don't just want your body. That's not the whole reason I asked you here.”  
The shorter man looked immediately relieved. “Oh… oh, I'm glad… I'm just not ready for… that. Anything… physical.”  
“Then we'll take it slow again, just like when we danced. If you want to, that is.”  
“Joey, I'd love to.”  
When Henry smiled up at him, Joey moved back to the other end of the couch, offering for Henry to lay against him. “It's too late for me to let you go home alone, at least stay the night?”  
With a contented sigh, Henry moved to tuck his head under Joey's chin. “That would be nice. I'm not too heavy, am I? You can breathe?” Then Joey started scratching his back and he melted.  
“You're just fine, Henry, as long as you're comfortable.” Joey smiled down at the man, and though they hadn't gotten to talking much that night, he found he was perfectly alright with that.


	3. Body Positivity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Takes place pre-game) Henry is pretty chubby. Overweight, even, and he knows that. He struggles with his image of himself sometimes, but Joey knows a perfect piece of art when he sees one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning for body image issues, also sliiiightly nsfw but nothing explicit.

‘I need to get out more. This is just…’ Henry stands by himself in the bathroom, his partner still asleep in the adjoining bedroom. His hands rest lightly on his pudgy stomach, jiggling it slightly and watching most of his body shake with it. He looks up into the mirror in front of him, studying himself. Tiny, red, uneven marks coat his belly and his hips. His thighs too, he knows, but they're covered by his boxers. He raises his arms so his hands rest on top of his head, revealing even more stretch marks by his armpits and the scars he hates so much at his forearms. His flabby chest is squished together in the process as well, causing him to frown.  
“What does he even see in me…?” He whispers allowed. ‘I make myself sick. All of this is disgusting. What does he even see? There isn't even muscle, it's all fat.’ Henry runs his hands down his face, leaving them over his hazel eyes. ‘Maybe if I can't see myself long enough, I'll finally disappear.’  
“Hey hot stuff…” A husky voice behind him suddenly says. Warm arms slide around his chest, fingers barely able to reach all the way around.  
“Joey…” The shorter man can feel his partner's chin resting on top of his head. “I thought you were still asleep…”  
“Mmm… not for a while…” He replies. His lips are against Henry's neck now. “I started to miss you.”  
“Hey Joey…?” Henry pauses for a moment, his arms drop to test on top of Joey's. “Do you… You do… like my body, don't you…?”  
Joey's hands slide down his sides to his hips, under the waistband of his boxers. “Hell yes I do… why wouldn't I? I mean look at this ass.” His right hand slips around to lightly pinch Henry's ass, making the man jolt and laugh.  
“Oh, come on… look at all these marks, it's bad…” Henry argues. Joey slips his hands out of his pants as Henry turns to face him.  
“Well… I can make some of my own, if that would make you feel better…” His lips are already on Henry's neck again, lightly nipping at his skin. It's about then that Henry notices his partner is still nude.  
“I just don't understand it…” Henry wraps his arms tightly around Joey's middle as he sighs.  
“Well I hope someday you'll see yourself through my eyes. Then you'll realize how perfect you are.” Joey kisses the top of his head and returns his embrace. They stay that way for what feels like a pleasant eternity before Joey speaks again. “Now come on… let's shower and get ready for work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm accepting prompts for these two! Help a guy out maybe?


	4. Late Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry can't help that he's a workaholic. He can't help but worry about when the next episode is due, even if it's a long ways off. And his habits are beginning to worry his partner Joey even more than before they were dating. There's got to be a way to get the animator to relax.

The night was late. Very late. As in everyone else had gone home, even Wally, the janitor. The only light on was the lamp Henry had over his desk. There were only a few more frames, he kept telling himself. Just a few more and he could stand up and stretch his aching spine and work the cramp out of his hand and the stiffness out of his elbows. Just a few more and the episode would be done and he could start on the next one in the morning. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice the footsteps approaching behind him. What he did notice was when a voice spoke his name. He jumped so hard that his pen flew from his grip and he fumbled to catch it, to no avail. It hit the floor and the animator stared for a second, then turned to where he'd heard the voice, wide-eyed. There stood Joey Drew, his boss and most recently, romantic partner. His hair was roughed up, sleep still evident in his eyes. He was wearing a jacket which, based on the flannel pants he wore, was covering a nightshirt. Joey had gotten up out of bed and come all the way down to the studio. Henry was horrified.  
“Henry, it's nearly one in the morning, please come home and go to bed. This can all wait.” Joey spoke softly.  
“But… the episode…” Henry slurred, gesturing to his desk.  
“No, Henry. It's not due for another week, please come to bed.”

The next thing Henry knew, Joey was sitting him down on their bed, in their apartment, removing his shoes and socks. His tie and his shirt were next to go by Joey's hand. Henry was able to snap in long enough to take his own pants off, but then Joey had him shift to sit up on the bed. The taller man moved to sit behind him and somewhere deep in his mind, Henry questioned why. That is, until fingers dug gently into his overly tense shoulders, aiming to release some tension.   
“Henry, you can't keep doing that to yourself. You said you'd be home soon and five hours later you’re still down at the studio, come on… I'm getting really worried about you.” Joey spoke in a low tone.  
“...Did I turn the lamp off? Did the ink get put away-” Henry hadn't seemed to hear him.  
“Shush.” The other man's tone was sharp now.  
“Sorry.” Henry whispered.   
“It's okay. But you need to relax.” Joey started to rub small circles with his thumbs. “You'll wear yourself down, you're so tense. Henry, the time crunches are never as bad as you make them seem. You’re overworking yourself and it’s starting to scare me.” All Henry could do was hum in response, enjoying Joey’s touch. 

Joey spent another twenty minutes working knots out of Henry’s shoulders and neck, hands eventually trailing down to massage the one he had been using to draw. Joey couldn’t help but cringe when the joints popped, making Henry’s head pull back up from where it rested on his chest. He had fallen asleep sitting up.   
“Henry, how about you get some sleep now… In the morning, I’ll draw you a hot bath to soak in, okay? It’ll help all of this some.” Joey spoke close to his ear, watching as the animator nodded sleepily, eyes still closed. He waited for Joey to move out from behind him, then flopped back onto the pillows. He was out before Joey could say another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm taking prompts for these two! Maybe help a guy out?


	5. When Drew is Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey has a meeting to go to one morning, but knows the studio can't run by itself. So he leaves Henry in charge. The poor animator gets to learn all kinds of new things about the studio and the people that work there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't really that shippy until the ending, I just kinda up and wrote this over the past few days so I figured I'd stick it here.

Leaving Henry in charge was a mistake. Joey Drew, who was seen as the big boss man, the man to go to with any and all problems in the studio, was out for the day at some kind of meeting. He wouldn’t specify what. He didn’t even specify how long he would be gone. But he had specified that, in his absence, Henry was in charge, seeing as he was the co-founder of the company. Things were already going badly for the animator.  
By ten in the morning, after being at work for two hours, he had already met three people he didn’t know existed, at least. One named Gary (Or maybe Grant? Yes, his name was Grant), one named Tommy (No, no, he went by Thomas, he had been telling Henry about a Tommy gun) and the third… If he was honest with himself, he didn’t remember the third. But they all worked at the studio doing… something. One of them was their projectionist, which was why he found it so strange that he didn’t know the man.  
He couldn’t remember what they had wanted, either. He knew he had taken care of whatever they needed taking care of, but it took four different trips down to the music department, and each time, Wally Franks, the janitor, greeted him. Once he was holding a mop, once he was holding a rag, once he was holding a bucket, and once he had just looked like someone threw their inkwell in his face. Probably Sammy. He annoyed Sammy to no end.  
...The stairs were hell on Henry’s knee. Only one, curiously.  
And he hadn’t even gotten any time to work on a new episode since then. He was supposed to be working on the sketches, those were due by the end of the week. All he knew so far was that it was going to be called False Profits and had something to do with Bendy finding a printing press, which obviously wouldn’t end well, and he would probably somehow get Boris to help with the whole mess, indirectly...

He was going over these ideas in his head and working on a third cup of lukewarm coffee in the breakroom when Susie Campbell strutted in. She looked surprised to see him, but slowly smiled one of her fake ‘you better call me pretty’ smiles. “Good morning, Mister Chase. How are you today?” She greeted, going for a cup of coffee herself.  
“Oh, well, you know how it is, miss.” Henry forced on a smile himself. Had his hands been shaking the whole time? He set his cup down, deciding that he had had enough. “And yourself?”  
“Oh, the same as usual…” She fixed herself a mug took a sip of coffee, then frowned and set it back on the counter. Her bright red lips flattened into a line and she stepped closer to Henry. Her voice was soft. “Henry… would you be a dear and… make a fresh post of coffee…?” As she spoke, her fingers trailed lightly down his chest.  
Henry suddenly found himself very uncomfortable. “Well… There’s… half a pot here, it would be a waste to-”  
“Oh, please, Henry…? It would be so soothing on the voice…” Her palm went flat against his chest then. Henry was about to argue with her again when one of the men from earlier, the projectionist, poked his head in.  
“Hey, Henry, is this a bad time? Wally’s about to do somethin’ stupid and I was wonderin’ if you wanted to do somethin’ to stop him.”  
“Yes, of course stop him! Uh, ‘scuse me, Susie…” Henry wriggled away from her and half-jogged to the door, gratefully following the man down to the music department for the fifth time.  
They were nearly down the stairs when the man said, “My name is Norman.”  
“Norman! I'm so sorry, I totally forgot. There's just so much happening right now…”  
“It's okay, I know.” He smiled slightly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants. “There they are.”  
Standing outside of the orchestra room was the orchestra itself, clearly having been kicked out by Sammy. Henry began to walk over. “Where's Wally and what's the stupid thing he's doing?”  
Wally’s voice cut through the general chatter. “Ova here! And it'll be funny, watch!”  
“I somehow doubt that, Franks…” When Henry reached Wally, he was standing next to the door with a bucket of what Henry could only assume was ink, trying to balance it on top of the door. “Wally… Wally, no…”  
“What? Sammy can't keep doin’ this, I gotta get him somehow.” As he finished speaking, he balanced the bucket just right so it would fall on whoever would open the door and stepped back.  
“No, you don't. Not on my watch.” Henry shuffled forward and reached for the bucket, his fingers barely brushing it even while standing on his toes. He had barely caught it and was about to start slowly lowering it down when the door opened from the other side. The door swung out toward him, causing the animator to stumble back a bit, the bucket following his path. It tipped and fell right into his face, coating his head and chest in ink. The bucket itself clattered to the wood floor. He heard everyone behind him gasp, a few people cursed. There was a long, long silence before a rag touched his face, gently blotting ink away from his closed eyes.  
Then Sammy's voice mumbled, “You sure took a bullet for me there…”  
Henry blinked and slowly wiped his face with one hand, sputtering the ink off of his lips so he could speak. “Joey is going to lose his mind.”  
“Henry, I am so sorry, here, lemme uh… I'll get ya a rag or somethin’, hold on…” Wally spoke quickly, footsteps retreating down a hallway just as fast as he spoke.  
“You’re more likely to lose your mind than Drew, Henry. If this shit keeps up, that is.” Norman offered.  
“Yeah…” The animator agreed. Sammy moved past him and Henry got out of the doorway as well, letting the orchestra get back to work.  
“‘Ere we go!” Wally’s voice echoed from the closet down the hall, the janitor running back into the room not seconds later with a clean towel for Henry. “Henry, really, I am so sorry, I didn’t think anybody’d try ta stop me-”  
“It… fine, Wally, really.” Henry interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. “No one’s hurt, it’s okay. Look, just…” He wiped as much ink as he could from his face and his hand. “Don’t do something like that again. Please? Imagine if Joey saw it happen.”  
“Heh, if he saw me, I’d be outta here. Wait, he’s gonna see you, you’re a mess… Oh shit! Henry, quick, if you gimme ya shirt, I can try and bleach it-” Wally started to panic.  
“Heh, subtle.” Henry barely caught Norman mumbling before he started to make his way back to the projection booth.  
“Wally, relax. I can just tell him I had to get more ink, it was up too high and it fell on me.” Henry assured, finishing up with the rag. He stuck it in his back pocket.  
“Well, I mean… it’s not a lie…” Wally considered.  
“Exactly. You aren’t going to lose your job, you’ll be fine. I’m heading back upstairs now, do you need anything else?”  
“Not that I can think of… Again, I’m real sorry, Henry.” Wally was going for a mop to clean up the remaining splatters.  
Henry waved back over his shoulder as he went back up the stairs. “It’s fine, Wally.”

Two hours later, Henry could not have been more grateful for a lunch break. He still hadn’t gotten any more work done, Grant needed him to read and sign some papers since he had the same rights to the studio as Joey, he didn’t even really take the time to read them- and he probably should have, but really didn’t care because they just kept coming! And then there were interviews for a new voice actress, and he had no idea why. He hadn’t been informed of a new character on the crew. He just had to explain to each of them that they would have to come back tomorrow, Joey Drew was out for the day, he would give him their phone numbers. One girl had hit him with her purse and stormed out. She would not be getting hired, no matter who the interview was for.  
Instead of eating a lunch, Henry cleared his desk of papers and leaned on it, using one arm as a pillow. He’d pinned a small sign to his own back that read “please leave me alone” with a little Bendy face next to it. He was almost asleep when someone whispered “Psst, hey… Hey Henry, are you awake?”  
The animator groaned. “Can you read, Wally? That means you too…”  
“I just came ta see how you was doin’.” Wally walked closer to him, his voice at its normal volume now.  
“I could really use a nap.” Henry said very pointedly. Wally was leaning against the wall when he turned to face him.  
“Heh, sorry pal. Any idea when Joey’s getting back?” He rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.  
“None. You know, I’m getting a little worried. You don’t think anything happened to him, do you?”  
“I’m sure he’s fine. You know that betta than I do.”  
“Yeah…” Henry let out a sigh. “I had no idea he dealt with all this stuff. I thought my job was hard, but man…”  
“Well if anybody can handle it, it’s you. I mean, hell, you’ve dealt with me for years before this!” At that, Wally spread his arms wide. “I wasn’t bein’ annoying! I was trainin you.” He smiled and Henry couldn’t help but smile back.

It was nearly six in the evening when Joey got back. By then, Henry was so tired, he didn’t want to walk. And with everyone gone for the night, he didn’t have to. It wasn’t like he could anyway. On the way back up from the music department for the sixth time, his knee had given out. So he just stayed on the stairs.  
“Henry…?” Joey’s voice was muffled from how far away he was. “You still here, babe?”  
“Music department!” Henry called back, hoping the man heard him. A few moments later, Joey appeared on the stairs above him.  
“Are you alright? What are you doing down here by yourself? Oh, Henry, honey, what happened? You look awful…”  
“It’s… it’s been a long day. Joey, I’m in a lot of pain, can you help me up? Please?”  
Joey’s face was instantly worried. “What happened?” He stepped down so he was two steps below Henry, reaching out to take his hands. When Henry let him, he pulled the man to his feet as best he could, shifting so they could go back upstairs.  
Henry tried his best not to put a lot of his weight on Joey, only using him for balance on his good leg. “I don’t know, my knee just hurts so bad… I did a lot of running around today, I wasn’t ready for it.”  
“Oh, Henry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone for so long, I got hung up with some… financial things.” One of Joey’s arm was around his waist, the other on his chest to help the animator stand. “Let’s just get you home to relax.”  
“...Hey Joey?”  
“Yes?”  
“What was that whole meeting about anyway? If we’re having financial problems, I deserve to know.”  
“Oh, no, it’s nothing like that.” Joey gave a slight smile. “You’ll see soon, I promise.” Henry swore he saw the man wink at him, but had nothing more to say.

Joey set Henry up in bed with ice all around his knee and began to very carefully clean every bit of ink off of him as he could. They both agreed that the shirt could not be saved. Once Henry was cleaned up, Joey began covering his face and neck in kisses, apologizing between each one.  
“Henry, you look so tired… I know it’s still early, but why don’t you get some sleep?” Joey seggusted. “I can make dinner and get you up when it’s ready.”  
Henry nodded and shifted a bit, his head resting back against a pillow. “I think that would actually be okay…”  
“Whoa, that job really did a number on you! You’re willing to sleep on my first try?” Joey put a hand to his own chest, pretending to be shocked. All Henry did was roll his eyes as Joey made his way out of the room. Just before he did, the taller man leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Henry was so tired and comfortable by then that he completely missed the small, velvet box Joey slipped into the drawer of the nightstand that sat slightly ajar.


	6. Henry and the Ink Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look, I... I turned Henry into an ink demon. It's actually really uncomfortable the way I drew it out. But there was an accident back at the studio, which trapped Henry and a few others inside. He was assumed dead by everyone at the studio, including Bendy, the cartoon that had been brought to life and saw Henry as one of his dads. Years later, seeking some form of closure after never getting to say a goodbye, Bendy returns to the studio. However, he certainly was NOT expecting to find anything or anyone alive inside...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw for some slight gore, some body horror? Ish

'Someone’s here. Someone’s here, someone’s here. SOMEONE’S HERE, Animator, someone is here, here, they are here…' The whisping fragments of voices said.

The Animator shifted around at the sound of the voices in the pools around it. Someone? Here? No, not possible. The only door was sealed.

“Hello?” Came a new voice. One strikingly familiar. One not trapped by ink. “Is somebody there?”

This was… odd. Wrong. Bad. No, good. Good? Not good? Not BAD!

The Animator hissed at the voices for arguing. They stopped instantly. The new voice yelled, “If yer out there, show yerself!” The Animator did not want to show itself. If someone was in its domain, they did not belong. The Animator slipped into one of the puddles, somehow finding its way closer to that voice. Unseen, it slipped free, inky hands making an attempt to drag it back in. The Animator swatted them away with a growl. The voices cried out and the Animator left them. It had to investigate.

~~~~~

Bendy had no idea what to expect inside the old animation studio. He felt guilty for how long it had taken him to get back. After the accident, he wasn't even sure there was anything left.   
A main pipe had ruptured, years ago, it ruptured and the studio started to collapse and flood with ink. Joey came running to Henry's desk, but only found the toon. Even in Joey's discomfort with the living toon, he scooped the little demon up and asked where the hell Henry was, they had to go! Bendy told him he had gone down to the music department, but by the time they made it down to the stairs, Wally Franks and Norman Polk were dragging people out of the collapsed service shaft. Wally had been in tears, telling them that Henry and Sammy were still inside, they were in Sammy's office, that was the first part to flood… Joey broke down right there and started screaming for someone to go in and get them, save them, they had to! But Norman pulled Joey and Bendy close, taking shuddering breaths. He told them they were gone. And they both knew it to be true. No one wanted it, but it was true.  
So here Bendy was, in his former home, looking for… who knows what. Closure, perhaps? He hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Henry, so maybe.  
A sudden, almost animal noise made the little devil jump. Was there something still alive here? “Hello?” He called. “Is somebody there?” He hefted a fire axe off of his back. “If yer out there, show yerself!” He didn't want to admit he was trembling as he made his way into the main room. An old projector was still running in one corner, even after all this time. Bendy walked towards it and ran his hand over its side. A layer of dust covered his cartoony hand when he looked, and he clicked the device off. When he did, a nearly deafening silence filled the space, save for the occasional drip of ink falling to the floor.   
He wanted the projector back on. He clicked it back on and really took a look around. The building was remarkably undamaged compared to how they had left it all those years ago. He decided for now, he would wander a bit and see just what was still intact.

~~~~~

The Animator was not sure what it was looking at. There was an ink thing, an ink thing in its domain, and it was perfect. It wasn't like the creatures from the pools. And it had something the Animator was able to recognize as a weapon. It should have felt fear, but only felt curious.

~~~~~

Everything in the studio was clean, no boards were broken- well, there were a few holes in the wall that looked similar to water damage, but that was all. And most of the doors were locked, which Bendy found as he made his way through the first level of the studio.  
And then he was in front of Henry’s desk. He hadn’t meant to go back there. But since he had, he let himself walk closer.There were still papers scattered on it, ink stained as they were. Carefully, he picked them up, almost afraid they would dissolve in his hands. The demon recognized them instantly as his own, remembering that that had been the day Henry was teaching him about perspective. Bendy’s sketches weren’t very good at all, but he remembered all the support Henry had given him, telling him to keep going, art was something that took time. Bendy felt tears welling in his eyes and he slowly set the papers back in their place.   
He jumped hard when heavy, shuffling footsteps began to make their way towards him. Holding the axe tighter, he turned to face his only route of escape. Slowly, something huge and dark rounded the corner, making an awful noise close to someone breathing. Bendy panicked. He yelled for the thing to go away, leave him alone, and threw the axe without thinking. It spun in the air and the blade sank deep into the flesh of whatever creature had come for him, making it scream. It stumbled back behind the corner before he could get a good look at it, and then everything fell silent. Clutching his chest, Bendy carefully moved to see where it had gone, but found that the only thing left in its place were drops of red ink. “You took my axe, ya bugger…” He muttered to himself. Part of him did not want to leave without it. And part of him didn’t want to leave without finding out what had taken it. Both of those parts of him were his “cartoon instincts”, as Joey had explained them. He sighed and continued to explore the studio.

The stairs to the music department were totally clear. Stained with ink, but clear. Bendy's knees shook at the sight and he began to sob. When he saw that stairway the day they lost Henry, it was blocked by boards and ink, but now… now there was nothing. That wasn't fair, it wasn't fair! Henry should be alive! How had all of that ruin been cleared? No one had been in the studio in years! Bendy wasn’t sure what he was feeling. It seemed like a mixture of anger, and grief, and sadness. Just all around hurt. And numbness. Suddenly he felt very numb. Like tears were falling for no reason. Shaking, he got to his feet. “Well… Guess I should… see what’s down there, huh…?” The demon mumbled to no one as he began to descend the rickety stairs.

What greeted Bendy at the foot of the music department stairs was not something he expected. The department itself was relatively nice, though aged. It looked about the same as before, save for the hulking thing in the corner by the orchestra’s room with its back to him. Careful not to make any noise, Bendy started to approach it. Just a few small steps at a time. As he watched the thing, he recognized the handle of his axe sticking out at its side, like he had stuck the thing in its middle with it. One of its cartoony hands was wrapped around it, clearly trying to remove the weapon. The creature itself was easily six feet tall, ink covering its shoulders and almost all of one arm. Both of its hands were just like his, three fingers and a glove, comically large and almost not functional. What was curious about the creature, though, was that it appeared to be wearing a white collared shirt and gray pants with a black leather belt holding them up. Despite being splattered with ink, the outfit was clear.   
Suddenly, somewhere on the upper level, a voice rang out, calling Bendy’s name as loud as it could. The creature instantly turned to look in the direction of the sound, but its only visible off-white locked on the cartoon. “Dad, why!” Bendy hissed as he turned back towards the stairway. His large cartoon feet pounded the hardwood as he ran away, knowing the creature was beginning to give chase to him. Not nearly as fast, though, he realized. He was nearly to the stairs that lead back to the first floor when he collided head first with Joey’s knees. Both for his own comfort and to keep the man from tumbling to the floor, he clung on.  
“Bendy, what the hell!” Joey barked. “What are you doing here? There’s nothing left here but painful memories, you know that! We talked about this!”  
“No, yer wrong! Dad, yer so wrong in the worst way, we gotta get outta here! Come on!” At that point, Bendy let go of his legs and reached for his hand, starting to pull the man up the stairs.   
“Good! You shouldn’t be here anyway!” Joey had hardly been dragged up three steps when he heard the noise of the ink creature himself. He made the mistake of looking back over his shoulder and caught the eye of the creature. “Bendy, what the fuck is that! What the fuck!” He shouted, and picked the toon up. He didn’t want to waste any time, he had no desire to find out exactly what it was. He was taking the steps two at a time and was back in the main room when the noises finally stopped and he let himself take a breath.  
“Boy, that was some harsh language.” Bendy teased after a long silence.  
“Whatever, what was that thing? What’s it doing here?”  
The toon shrugged as he was set back on the ground. “No idea, dad.You spooked it while I was tryin’ ta find out.”  
“See, now it’s even worse that you’re here. You know how much… bad this place holds. And then you went and put yourself in danger!” Joey scolded.   
Bendy was about to retort when ink suddenly spurted up from the ground in front of the pair, flecking them both with it. When a huge, cartoony hand hit his face and sent him to the floor, Bendy realized that it had, in fact, been the ink creature materializing in front of them. It let out a heavy, low growl, and the cartoon looked up in time to see it preparing to make a lunge at him.   
Until Joey put himself between the little demon and the big one, arms spread wide. For a long, long moment, nothing moved or made any noise, not even the projector in the corner of the room. Slowly, Joey lowered his arms back to his sides, shoulders slouching. In front of him, the creature slowly hunched down itself, appearing to look Joey in the eyes. “Oh, my God…” Joey whispered. “Henry…? Is… that you…?” He breathed.  
The thing’s- Henry’s- eye went wide, as did both of Bendy’s. The animator shifted closer, his left leg dragging on the floor. He was nearly nose to nose with Joey. “J...o...ey…?” His distorted voice asked.  
Both of Joey’s hands moved to cup his face. “Henry… Henry, love, you’re… you’re here… My god, what happened to you…?” One of Joey’s hands slipped under them bangs covering Henry’s other eye, intending to move the nearly inky substance out of the way, but Henry flinched back. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry, did that hurt…? I didn’t mean to…”  
“Hey dad…?” Bendy slowly stood, placing a hand on Joey’s leg. “Pops, uhm, pops’s got an axe stuck in him, maybe help him out with that…?”  
Joey’s eyes trailed down to Henry’s stomach where the blade had buried itself and the toon could hear him choke back a sob.”Oh my god, oh my god… Henry, honey, hey… Look, I’m going to try and get this thing out of you, will you let me do that…?” Joey watched the animator for a moment, and when he didn’t move, reached for the axe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still taking prompts, by the way! Oh, and I wasn't sure how to end this chapter off, so it may seem a bit sudden. Let me know if there needs to be a part two?  
> Oh, and to those of you leaving nice comments; I do read them!! I just don't take compliments well, so I'm never sure what to say, but thank you so much for the nice words (and the rarepair hell cookies!), it really means a lot to me!!


	7. Henry and the Ink Machine pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the last chapter! Finally.

By the time Joey got Henry to sit still for long enough for him to remove the blade, Henry was crying globs of ink and bleeding everywhere. And then he wouldn’t let Joey near him, but he didn’t seem to want to travel through the ink to get away, either. Both of his mostly white gloves were pressed against the gash in his stomach as he backed away from the pair, blood soaking into them. As they watched, Joey and Bendy could see the blood run up his arm instead of down, mixing with the ink that they found out actually made up his limbs. Joey and the toon shared a look as Henry backed into a corner.   
“Henry, please just let me see, I can make it all better.” Joey pleaded.  
“Pops, come on, dad didn't mean to hurt ya that bad, he was trying to help.” Bendy took a half-step closer and Henry growled.   
“Maybe just… let him come to us, okay?” Joey looked down at the toon again.  
“Fine…” Bendy began to back off, hesitantly reclaiming the slightly bloodied axe on the ground. The action caused Henry to growl at him again. “Dad, we can't take him outta here like that. Maybe there's a way to… to turn him back, ya know? Maybe I can go look for it.”  
The human gave a wary look. “You best be careful, Bendy. We don't know if Henry was the only one still in here.”  
“Dad, careful is my middle name.” The toon joked.  
“No, it certainly is not. In fact, I specifically remember it being Trouble.”  
“C'mon, you can at least let Bendy Trouble Drew dream!” Having said that, Bendy put the axe over his shoulder and turned on his heel, intending to go back and explore the music department further.  
~~~~~  
Bendy groaned in pain and blinked his eyes open. “What happened…?” He mumbled.  
A soft laugh he couldn't recognize answered him. “Well, well… The Muse wakes…”  
Bendy's head snapped up, only to be met with a cardboard cutout of his own face towering over him. He jerked his arms, ready to force it away, but found them securely tied against a wooden beam. Oh… oh, right… someone- or some thing- knocked him out cold. He couldn't begin to understand how, considering he was a toon, but now here he was.   
“Now, now, Muse. There is no need to struggle. For you are perfect.” The voice behind the mask said.   
“Perfect?” Bendy found himself echoing.   
“Yes, of course! The perfect sacrifice for the Animator himself!” The figure threw its inky arms into the air.  
Bendy raised a mock eyebrow at the figure. “Sammy Lawrence…? Oh man, you look worse than Henry!”  
Sammy flinched at the sound of his name. “So you do recognize me. But no matter! That name means nothing to me, I'm simply His prophet and the ritual must be completed!”   
“Sammy, come on! You know me! This ink is gettin’ to yer head!” Bendy found himself becoming frantic, but Sammy was already making his way towards a door on the toon’s left.   
“Dear Muse. There is no need to fear. For you, too, freedom from the ink is near.” The door closed what was left of Sammy off from Bendy's view. The next time the inky man spoke, his voice was coming through a speaker mounted on the wall, calling out for the Animator to rise.  
~~~~~  
Henry's hair felt like ink. It felt like ink, but it didn't drip or run. It was a strange texture under Joey's palm, but it seemed to be keeping Henry calm. Somehow, he had gotten the hulking creature that was once a man to crouch, then lay on the ground. By the time he did, Henry had stopped bleeding as well, then he just pushed his head into Joey's lap.  
Joey let him stay that way for nearly half an hour when Henry suddenly sat up, his off-white eye widening. He looked around almost frantically, then stood up and disappeared in a flare of ink, leaving Joey stunned.  
~~~~~  
All Bendy could hear after Sammy's prayers were the music director's terrified screams. And then someone began pounding on the door from the inside, trying to get back out. Suddenly, the ropes around the toon’s wrists snapped from the effort of him trying to get free.   
He was nearly ready to start running back up a hallway when another scream sounded from the room, freezing him. Against every ounce of his better judgement, he made his way to the room and slowly creaked the door open.   
The sight that greeted him was indeed interesting. On the floor was Sammy Lawrence, stripped of his mask and most of his clothes, now flushed the healthy tone of pale skin. He was propped up on his elbows on the floor, scrambling to push himself further away from Henry, who had pressed himself against the far wall. Sammy's wild blue eyes locked onto Bendy when the door opened and he only half pushed to his feet before vaulting behind the toon to hide.  
“Bendy, what the hell happened?” He hissed. “Where are we, what is that thing? And where are my clothes?!”  
Bendy let out an awkward laugh. “It's, ah… good to have ya back, Sammy. Seems like a lot's gone down, huh?”  
The music director jumped when Henry took a shambling step towards them. “What is that?! It is trying to kill us?!”  
“Tha’s no way to talk about an old friend!” Bendy indicated Henry with his arm, turning his head to give Sammy a look.  
“What do you mean, old friend? That isn't even a human!” Sammy replied in alarm.  
Bendy sighed and offered his hand to the animator. “C'mon, pops, you left dad all alone up there. Let's go see if you can figure out what ya did to fix Sammy-boy. And if it works on you, too.”  
Sammy could only stare as Henry's hand engulfed the toon’s, realizing what he had meant. “Henry?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will the formatting on this site ever stop being a nightmare? Anywho, I probably won't do another chapter for this particular thing, so use your imagination for it! Or if you're feeling inspired, maybe write your own? Just tag me I suppose!


	8. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by Gears112, Henry has a nightmare about his time spent trapped inside the studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty sure chapter notes are super broken? I think? Anyway, I get pretty detailed about some injury here, be warned

‘Stairs, stairs, just have to keep climbing the stairs, I have to get up them…’ Henry kept thinking to himself, even barely able to walk now with his knee hurting so badly. But the stairs seemed endless. How many floors did he need to go up? He couldn't remember. And he didn’t understand why he couldn’t really feel the pain. He knew it hurt, but he could feel it hurt. He soon convinced himself that was the last thing that needed to be on his mind. He needed the… power cores? What would a cartoon need with power cores? He brushed that off too when three ink creatures rose up in front of him, jaws gaping to expose rows of sharp teeth. He hardly had time to swing his wrench as one slashed at him with its lengthened claws, screeching. They caught him across the chest, but he didn’t feel that, either, just saw the blood fly.  
In a blink, he found himself sitting on the ground, pressed into a corner and holding his knee. His pant leg was rolled up sloppily to his thigh, the joint itself swollen to twice its normal size, shifting through hues of black and blue as he watched it. The worst part was, his kneecap wasn’t even where it was supposed to be. It sat two inches to the right from the center of his knee, stretching his skin in a way that should have deeply disturbed him. And yet he found it funny that it didn't hurt at all. So funny, in fact, that he started to laugh. But after a few moments, he realized it wasn't his laughter at all anymore. It was two voices, one layered over the other, growing louder and more hysterical.  
He could feel his heart beating so fast he felt it might explode. He knew that laugh, it was getting closer, and there was nothing he could do but sit and cry and wait. Wait for Alice to find him, like she always did. He dreaded it. He tangled his hands in his hair, trying not to think about it, about what she would do when-  
His hair was suddenly yanked hard, his head pulled up to meet the gaze of Alice's malformed face. Half of that face was smiling wickedly. Henry found himself unable to struggle or fight her off. He found himself unable to even move, call out in fear, in pain…  
And then he realized she had a gun. He had no idea how she had gotten it and didn't have much time to question it before she stepped back and aimed it at him. He didn't even feel the bullets that riddled his legs, but he screamed. He screamed at the top of his lungs, watched blood pool around him, then Alice stepped forward into it and leaned close. She began to speak his name, but it wasn't her voice, it was Joey Drew's. Where was Joey? Was he really here in this studio? There was no way he was behind this, even after what happened, Henry was sure Joey would never try to hurt him-

And suddenly his eyes flew open. At first, all he saw was darkness, but then a light clicked on to cast a dim glow over the room. Joey Drew sat to his left, both hands on Henry's face. Worry shaped his features, his gaze not breaking from Henry even as the door behind him opened. Henry found himself unable to move or speak, only breathe hard and feel his own heartbeat. The image of Alice with the gun still burned through his mind. His didn’t want to close his eyes.   
It took him far too long to finally sit up, in his opinion, and the first thing Joey did was hug him. He melted into the embrace and sighed. Over Joey’s shoulder, he spotted a tiny toon in the doorway, still rubbing sleep out of his pie-cut eyes.  
"Henry, honey, was it a nightmare?” Joey asked, rubbing his husband's back.   
Henry hesitantly nodded. “I was… back in that place…”  
“You don't have to go back there anymore, you're safe now…” Joey leaned back enough to kiss his neck.  
“Joey, my leg hurts, what happened to me…?”  
“Doctor said you dislocated your knee, don't you remember?”  
“Oh… right…” Henry nodded slightly, things slowly coming back to him.  
“Do you want me to get you some ice for it?” Joey offered.  
“It's so late, though…” Henry began to shake his head. “I've caused you enough trouble tonight.”   
“You're no trouble, babe. I'll be right back with some ice.” He placed a kiss on top of Henry's head as he got up, shuffling out of the room despite being in just his pyjama pants.  
As soon as he was gone, Bendy jumped up on the bed and wrapped his arms around Henry's neck, still standing at full height. “Are you okay now, pops? You screamed pretty loud.”  
“I screamed…?” He sighed when the toon nodded.  
A few minutes later, Joey finally came back in. “Here we are.” He spoke softly. Henry pulled the blankets off of his legs, letting Joey pack three small bags of ice around his injured one.  
“Thanks, darlin’.” Henry gave him a thankful smile.  
“Wanna tell us what the nightmare was about, pops?” Bendy asked, sitting down with his legs crossed. “It might help.”  
“It…” He seemed to stare off into space for a moment. “It was Alice again… I don’t know why I even still worry about her, I know she’s…”   
“You went through a lot, Henry. It’s natural that it would still affect you, it wasn’t even that long ago…” Joey assured him, gently pulling on his shoulder to get him to lay down again. As he did, Bendy moved to squeeze in between him and Joey.   
“Hey, don’t worry about it anymore, pops! I can protect ya from that bitch!” Bendy exclaimed.  
“Bendy Drew!” Henry and Joey said in unison, looking at the toon in shock.  
He just shrugged, smiling with his tongue sticking out through his teeth. “Hey, am I wrong though?”  
“Even if it’s true, you shouldn’t say it.” Joey said pointedly.   
“Fine, fine…” Bendy waved him off. After a pause, “Oh, hey!” He started to rummage in a far too deep pocket that he didn’t even really have in true cartoon fashion, soon retrieving an old-looking book. “Pops, this was stashed in yer old office down the hall. It looked interestin’, if yer gonna be up, you think you could read it for me?” He passed the book to Henry, who smiled.  
“You know what…” He turned the cover to show Joey, who gave it a fond look. “I think that’d be good. You’re going to love it, kiddo.” Joey pulled the blankets back up and tucked them around all of them, moving close enough to Henry to rest his head on his shoulder while he read aloud. “‘Concerning Hobbits…’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, lookit those fuckin' nerds


	9. The Little Demon's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry gets to meet his three-dimensional little devil darling for the first time! Or so it seems...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy one year anniversary to Bendy and the Ink Machine! I haven't been writing much, but I managed to get this out this morning before work! This gave has been such a huge thing in my life, in so many ways. It's so important to me and I'm happy others can enjoy my writing about it with me! Hey, maybe I'll do a more goofy piece like this later!

“Oh Henry…!” Joey's voice called from behind the corner, just out of the animator’s view.  
Said animator stuck his pencil behind his ear and turned in his chair. “What is it, Mister Drew?”  
“I have a little surprise for you! Now, don't judge it right away. It's new, it's different, but I think you'll love it.” Slowly, Joey stepped into view, hunching over quite a bit. His hands held the three-fingered gloves of a cartoon, which were attached to a short, round body by rubber hose arms. The thing's rounded knees shook with each step, unsteady on its oversized feet. Its near circular head was tilted down to look at them while it walked, smile rounded to more of an oval. When Joey stopped walking again, a few feet from Henry, it looked up and blinked its pie-cut eyes at him.  
Henry stared at the three-dimensional cartoon, mouth hanging open. “Joseph Drew, what did you do?” He spoke low, not looking up at the man's face.  
“I did something I wasn't meant to do. This little guy, well… We need to talk about this later, I promise we will, but… Say hi to him, at least.” Joey smiled.  
Almost hesitantly, Henry moved from his chair to kneel in front of the cartoon, Joey letting its hands slide out of his own as he stood up fully. “Hey there, Bendy…” The animator murmured. He reached out and offered the cartoon his own hand.  
Suddenly, Bendy leaped at him, arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug, nearly knocking henry off balance. His feet no longer even touched the ground, he was so tiny. Henry looked up to Joey as he let his hands rest on the cartoon’s back, somewhere between awe and joy. “See, Henry? I knew you'd love him!”  
“Of course I do! He's my little devil darlin’ after all.” The animator gave a full smile, slowly rising to his feet. Bendy didn't seem to want to let go.  
“Then I trust you'll take care of him for a while.” Joey raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.  
“Of course, Mister Drew.” Henry nodded, smiling brightly.

Henry finds himself flashing back on this moment as a hulking, dripping, grinning seven-foot demon rushes right at him from the other end of the hallway. Henry knows he doesn't have the strength to run or even fight now, and he's so trapped he may as well just accept what's coming. He closes his eyes, remembering everything he can about Joey Drew before all of this. ‘He had such a nice smile…’ Henry thinks. Ink falls on him heavily like a cold blanket. It's all over his face, up his nose and the smell is so awful he has to cough. As soon as his mouth opens, it fills with thick ink and he begins to choke. When what feels like arms wrap around him and hold him closer, he frantically starts to push back with both hands. He doesn't think the ink is solid, but it's solid enough.  
When he's abruptly let go, he stumbles back, wide-eyed and ink-soaked. He blinks at the demon.  
“So...rry…?” A scratchy, distorted voice pulls itself from the demon's throat. Henry can't help but stare in confusion. “Just… hug…” It says, gasping between words. If Henry wasn't so dehydrated, he would cry. He falls to his knees. Bendy, even after all this time, is his not-so-little devil darlin’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand end of chapter notes are still broken... Oh well!


	10. Lazy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Joey's found a rather effective way to help Henry relax... (nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, long time, no update! To make up for it, here's some gays having a good time! 
> 
>  
> 
> ....listen I don't normally write nsfw, I'm a bit out of my element here, so... hope this is alright! I kind of combined a couple ideas from imagination_tier, so thank you!

The sheets stir around Henry slowly, rousing him out of sleep. He blinks, then opts to keep his eyes closed, as the sun is shining through the partially cracked curtains. But Joey is getting out of bed and he doesn’t want him to leave. He’s too warm. The animator lets one arm fall heavily over the other man just as he reaches the edge of the bed, pulling him back to the middle with a soft, drawn out “no”.  
Joey sighs. “Henry, I have to make breakfast…”  
“Not yet, ‘m still tired.” Henry mumbles back.  
“That’s why I was getting up to make it for you…”  
“But you’re cuddly, jus’ five more minutes.” Henry nuzzles even closer to him, one leg hooking around his partner’s hip.  
“...The last time you said that, five minutes lasted an hour…” Joey commented, but didn’t seem to be protesting anymore.  
“And how long ago was that?” When there’s silence, Henry nods. “See, you don’ even remember…”  
“And that’s probably a bad thing… You work so hard, I can’t remember the last time I got you like this.” The smile on his face bleeds into his voice.  
“See? More reason to stay in bed with me.” Henry buries his face in the back of Joey’s neck.  
They stay that way for what feels like another couple of hours before Joey tries to pull away again, rolling over in Henry’s grasp so he can face him. “Henry…” Joey lets out a small snort. “Your hair can’t decide where it wants to go.”  
The animator feels a hand gently patting at it, testing how fluffy it is. “That’s too bad. Issnot going anywhere.” He opens one eye to look at Joey, the other closed partially due to the fact that it’s squished against the pillow.  
Joey kisses him on the nose. “Well, it might have to go somewhere in a second…” He’s smirking now, which makes Henry raise an eyebrow. He’s about to ask when Joey has in mind when a hand slips up the tank top he’s wearing, rubbing lightly against his side and sending a shiver up his spine. “Even if you’re being lazy, if you’re feeling up for it, I’ll do all the work…” Joey offers.  
After considering it for a moment, Henry smiles and rolls onto his back, Joey following his movements so that he’s straddling his hips. “That does sound pretty nice…” As the animator speaks, a light blush creeps up his cheeks.  
“I knew you’d think so…” Joey leans close and starts to trail kisses down Henry’s neck, gently sucking on the skin lower down while his hands knead at his stomach.  
Henry lets out an almost moaning breath. “Careful not to leave any marks too bad, I was wearing a scarf for a week last time…”  
“I know what I’m doing, relax…” Joey says, both hands running up Henry’s shirt instead. The man barely sits up so that his partner can remove it, and his boxers soon follow, leaving his body on full display.  
Henry can't help but look away from Joey's face. “Joey, it’s kind of cold in here…” He attempts to make the excuse to put something back on.  
“Well I know what’ll warm ya right up, handsome.” Joey doesn’t fall for for it, a smirk pulling at his lips as he moves lower on the bed. Henry can't see the man past his belly anymore, but gentle hands press his thighs apart as much as possible, then soft lips trace up the inside of one, a hand gently squeezing the other. Without meaning to, the animator begins to squirm at the touch. “Hey, babe, relax… I'll take good care of you…”  
“Sorry, I'm trying to... I just- Ah- Ahh~” The shorter man's voice catches and his fingers press down into the matters when his partner's tongue slides up the underside of his length.  
“Unless the next thing out of your mouth is my name, I don't want to hear any more.” Joey voices as he begins to pump his hand up and down around Henry's shaft, coaxing it to harden even more.  
Said man starts breathing harder, pushing his head back against the pillow. He can feel now that he's fully erect, and while it's nothing impressive, Joey's never scoffed at it. Slowly, teasingly, Joey's tongue presses against him again, carefully moving upwards. His lips wrap the head, gently sucking for a few moments before he plunges down, taking the full length in. Henry can't help but let out a high-pitched half-squeak of a moan, his hips suddenly jolting upwards. He hears Joey gag slightly, but he doesn't pull back at all. A hand slips up to rest on one of his hips then, shortly followed by the opposite hand settling on his thigh, gently gripping it. Joey starts to move his head up and down a little more quickly than expected, drawing a shuttering groan of pleasure from Henry's lips.  
It isn't long before the animator tenses up, the breaths of air he's letting out through his mouth becoming almost desperate. His gasps quickly turn to high whines, his fingers curling up into the sheets tightly as Joey pulls him closer to the edge. The taller man suddenly pulls his head all the way up with a ‘pop’, the hand on Henry's thigh abruptly taking the place of his lips, rapidly creating friction against the sensitive skin. “Hey, c'mon, look at me…” Joey speaks with a husky voice, pulling the other's attention back to him. His partner's eyes are half-lidded, he's panting and his face is bright red. He only manages to hold eye contact for a few moments before suddenly throwing his head back, thrusting his hips upwards with a few overly loud moans. The noises are accompanied by a small mess spilling onto Henry's stomach and partially Joey's hand. “There we go… that's the kind of relaxation you needed.”  
The shorter man lets himself go slack, attempting to catch his breath. “Yeah… I think you're right…” He mumbles, watching Joey move to the bathroom. Water runs for a few seconds, and then he returns and begins to clean up the mess they made with a damp washcloth.  
“I'll go do some laundry later too, alright? Don't you worry about a thing today.” Joey finished up, then leans over to gently press his forehead against Henry's. “Starting with some breakfast. Come on out when you feel up for it, alright?” He pulls away then and heads for the door, happy to let the love of his life bask in the afterglow for as long as he needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story; Henry and Joey's upstairs neighbors and the neighbors on either side of them... kind of hate them. Not because they're gay, no, that's fine. They just... tend to get a little loud ;)


	11. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since returning from the studio, Henry finds it hard to sleep some nights. Joey, who's been dealing with the same problem since Henry left, came up with a solution. Well, at least most of one. Quiet drives together in the dark with no other traffic around seem to soothe them both. This time, though... Joey may have a surprise in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of you lovely people gave me a prompt the other day and lo and behold, I actually finished the fic to go with it. It's been a while since I finished anything, guys. Enjoey.

The sound of tires on the road this late at night is one of the few things Henry finds truly soothing anymore. The streetlights passing overhead cast orange streaks through the windshield, giving the retired animator a moment to glance down at his hand, fingers lightly intertwined with Joey's over the console. Joey still has one hand on the steering wheel, of course, his eyes trained on the road. Henry finds himself mentally drifting off, just happy to spend a quiet, peaceful moment together. He'll admit, they have a lot of these moments, but it doesn't make him any less happy. And it's not either if their faults that they can't get to sleep.

Ever since he'd returned from the studio, back to his old apartment, Henry couldn't help the thinking. He saw what the time apart had done to Joey; he'd lost so much weight and color, he practically looked like hadn't taken care of himself at all in that time. Not to mention all the scars around his neck. He forced himself not to imagine where those came from, though the odd stains in the bedroom carpet and on the bathroom tile didn't help. 

He pulled his mind out of that spot. Into a different one, he willed himself.

Joey hardly acted as if they'd been apart at all. Henry expected an argument, yelling, crying- he expected Joey to reject him and he would've been right to do so. He expected Joey to have moved on as well. But none of that happened, save for the crying. There was a talk, but not a fight. Several of them, really, all late at night as they laid in bed, tangled together, attempting to sleep. Henry could still see ink demons in his mind at those hours, fighting them for the chance to rest. He imagined Joey had demons, too, or he would be resting easy instead of taking Henry on aimless drives in the dark to relax them both.

It's only when the car slows, turns and stops that he realizes Joey picked a destination for them this time. He looks up at a storefront as Joey shuts the car off. “An ice cream shop?” Confusion laces the words. 

Joey smiles at him, that familiar light returning to his otherwise dead eyes. “Well, why not? I'm just surprised this place is still here. You remember it, don't you?”  
Henry smiles back as they both climb out of the car. “Of course I do! We used to come here nearly every day-"  
“And the owner knew us by name-"

“But the cashier couldn't stand us!” Both men laugh softly at the memories as they enter the little store. A man behind the counter, who'd been falling asleep, looks up as the bell above the door rings, offers a fake smile and a “how can I help you?”

“Here, Henry,” Joey puts his hand on the shorter man's shoulder for a moment. “Why don't you go find us a table? I'll order something for you if you want.”  
Henry agrees and makes his way towards a small table by the window, not minding what Joey could possibly come up with for him. He slides into the chair facing the door, resting his arms on the table with his chin in one hand. His mind begins to wander again, but this time to distant memories- cheerful ones.   
A soft “Ta-da!” from Joey returns him to his current time and place, a cardboard cup sliding in front of him. 

“Thank you, love.” Henry mumbles in response.

“Of course.” Joey sets himself in the other chair, facing Henry. His own mock bowl contains only a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

Henry picks up the plastic spoon, noticing two scoops of neapolitan ice cream in his own dish. His lips pull upward again. “You remembered my favorite.”

“How could I forget?” Joey grins, both falling silent to enjoy their frozen treat. 

Henry's gaze drifts out the window again, only small scoops making it onto his spoon to avoid making a mess. He's only taken a few bites when something catches his attention; Something hard mixed in with his ice cream made it into his mouth. It's hard, vaguely metallic, and just plain startling. His face morphing into some form of distress, he pulls whatever it is out of his mouth with his free hand.

The moment he realizes what it is, he drops his spoon into his bowl. The silver band is a little tarnished, presumably from age, but the small stone set on it still sparkles. Eyes wide, stuck on the ring, he reaches for a napkin to wipe off a smear of strawberry ice cream. When he looks up, Joey's grin has only gotten wider. “Oh, my god!” Henry whispers. He feels tears prick the corners of his eyes, happy ones. 

Joey reaches out and takes Henry's left hand, then carefully plucks the ring from between his fingers. “I'm sorry it's not a lot. I've just had it for so long…” He shifts in his chair to reach across and slip the ring on his partner’s finger. “You were the best thing in my life. I thought I'd lost you for good, and before you start throwing blame again, that's not your fault. I'm just… I'm so happy to have you back in my life. It's been too long since I've felt this way and I never want to be without you again. Not for as long as I live. I was just too scared to ask you before and I don't know why. So… Now that I finally have the courage… Henry Maurice Chase, will you marry me?”

By the time Joey finishes speaking, tears are rolling down Henry's face. He takes a moment to glance at the ring before leaning over the table to press a firm kiss onto Joey's lips. He pulls back just enough to rest their foreheads together, laughing excitedly. “Of course I will! Of course! I can't believe you were going to ask before all of this, you dolt!” 

“It was just never a good time…” Joey looks away shyly.

Henry kisses him again. “Wow. The great Joey Drew, scared of asking little old me to marry him. Unbelievable.”

“What's unbelievable is that you said yes!” Joey argues jokingly. 

“You know I always thought you were too good for me.” Henry counters, finally sitting back in his chair. 

“No one's too good for you, Henry Drew.” Joey finally sits back himself, poking at the mostly melty ice cream with his spoon.

“Now that's a name with a nice tone.” Even with the stone on his finger, Henry can’t help gazing at his fiancee's face. 

“Indeed it is.” Joey agrees.

Yes, Henry thinks, even though he wasn't planning on going anywhere, this is exactly how things are meant to be.


	12. Just Give Him a Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate universe, Joey Drew was not as caring about the lives of other people and decided to use whatever means he could to bring his creations to life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self-indulgence, really, is what made this. TW for uh. Murder. I think this technically counts as someone getting drugged too so. Yeah. So how about that chapter 5? (This is not canon to my personal AU :P)

The darkened inner workings of the studio were the last place Henry expected to find himself at the end of his shift before the weekend. Despite this, Joey lead the way down the dim halls, humming gently, hands folded behind his straightened back. All Henry knew was that Joey wanted his help with something and it wouldn’t take long. It was an everyday request, seeing how closely they worked to produce the cartoons. 

They stopped on a landing between flights of stairs, Joey’s tune switching to a whistle as he unlocked a door. On the other side, candles flickered, casting strange shadows from the support beams around the room. There didn't look to be any other lights.  
“Here we are!” Joey announced.

As he entered the room, Henry's eyebrows furrowed. “What room is this?”

“I'm not quite sure what to call it yet… but I think it'll prove to be useful!” Removing his jacket, Joey tossed it over the back of a nearby chair. “Help me roll up my sleeves?” The smaller nodded, wordlessly filling the request. Once he finished, Joey spoke again. “And we'll need this a little more loose.” He reached out for Henry's necktie, only loosening it enough to undo the top two buttons of his white work shirt.

Henry snorted, but didn’t aim to stop his partner yet. “Just what, exactly, do you think it is we'll be doing down here?”

Joey shifted to cup his face with both hands, grinning. “Something incredible!” He quickly turned away, opening a trunk that sat on another chair. “What if I told you I found a way to make our creations more than just ink and paper? To make them real?”

Henry crossed his arms over his chest. “I'd say I don't believe you.” His tone remained light.

“Belief, Henry, belief! It’s powerful, you know, not something to be misplaced! Now Henry, don't get nervous, and just let me explain first, alright?” When he turned to face Henry again, a polished knife was laying across both of his palms.

Henry's expression suddenly turned skeptical. “I'll humor you, but that better be a darn good explanation…”

“It is, it is.” He shifted the knife into one hand, gesturing with his free one. “Henry, I've found a way to make our cartoons real. Tangible, physical, like you and me. Without the proper catalyst, though, they're just lumps of ink with no purpose. I thought, well, why not take it another step up? What if our characters were alive, like us?”  
“Does this have to do with your rituals? I told you, I don't want anything to do with them. Not right now.”

“No, no, Henry! Now is the perfect time! I've finally figured it out, you're just perfect for this! How fitting, it would be the creator becoming his creation!”  
“Seriously, I don't want anything to do with your witchcraft, alright? I don't mind you working with it, but I don't want to be involved. Let's just go home for the night, alright?” That being said, the animator started to make his way to the door, ready to leave.

A hand yanking him back by the arm sent his pulse skyrocketing. Henry's back hit the wall immediately before his head. It wasn't enough to disorient him, no, but it hurt. Then Joey's vice grip was on both of his wrists, pinning them at his sides. The knife had been stuck in his belt. That grin of his, once so light and friendly in his eyes, now turned sinister. The animator didn't dare move. Joey leaned down to meet his eyes, his crimson tie hanging from his neck. His pupils had reduced to specks in his already dark irises, an unnatural look to them.  
“But think about it, Henry! Just- just think about it! You would be the start of an incredible thing!” The larger-than-life voice called in his face.   
“Joey, I did think about it and you're scaring me. Let go.” Henry pleaded.

“I'll let go when I'm sure you understand! Henry, living cartoons! Cartoons that walk and talk and feel on their own! I just need something more real than ink alone to make it work! It won't take much at all, just give it a chance.” His voice softened towards the end, his body pressing closer. Without his jacket, Joey radiated warmth.  
Henry tried to push him away, back up, but there was no room to maneuver. “Joey, please let go. Let go.” His own voice shook.  
“Fine, fine…” Finally, he nearly released one of the the other man's arms, backing away. Then he started to pull Henry along with him, his grip wrinkling the fabric under his palm. “Just… hear me out, maybe if you got to see it in action, you would change your mind-”

“Joseph, let go of me!” Henry suddenly dug his heels into the floor, wrenching his arm away and holding it to his chest. “I don’t like this idea! Yes, it would be interesting if… if we had living cartoons, like you and me, but taking a life to create one is wrong, not to mention illegal! How long has this been going on? How many people have been lost because of you?”  
“Shh, easy now, there’s no need to raise your voice.” The taller man was trying his best to sound soothing. “Look. It’s not just any random person that can become a cartoon. They have to have a connection, a bond, almost, with that character! Which is why I want you to-”

“How did you find this out? How do you know this?” The animator interjected.

Joey chuckled lowly, normally such a sweet sound. “You’re always focused on the little details, aren’t you? It’s one of the things I loved about you, you know.” He shook a finger at him, turning his back and taking a few steps towards the pentagram. He was rummaging in the trunk again.

Henry felt his blood run cold, his heart and stomach simultaneously dropping. “...That was past tense.” Joey's silence in response filled the space so quickly it was suffocating. “Joseph. That was past tense.”

“Why do you think farmers don't get attached to their animals, Henry?” Joey looked over his shoulder, the faint sound of liquid in a bottle coming from his direction for a moment.  
Realization of what Joey meant by that hit Henry like a brick. Shaking his head, he made a dash past Joey to the door. Whatever had happened, the Joey he knew was gone. He didn't get far, though; he was hardly to the foot of the stairs when a cold, wet cloth pressed over his mouth and nose, filling it with a strong chemical scent. Another strong arm pulled him back against a warm body. He tried not to breathe, but his panic forced him to do otherwise.

“I didn't want to do it this way, Henry. We could've done this simply. Just calm down now…” Joey's voice was right in his ear. Struggle was useless to Henry at that point, his vain yells for help unheard against the cloth. “Come on. You can give in. I know you can't outrun me for long.” Joey began to drag him backwards, Henry's body slowly becoming more slack. They stood still for a long, long moment, waiting, waiting.

Once Henry's eyelids began to get heavy, Joey let him drop to the floor on his back. He could see candles at his sides, forming the foggy thought that Joey had put him in the pentagram. He could barely react to the pain of the impact, but suddenly Joey was straddling over him. 

With Henry hardly finding the strength to move his arms, the taller man started dousing another cloth in liquid. “You could've made this less painful. You could've given my ideas a chance, Henry. Maybe then it wouldn't have to end this way.” As Joey spoke, he pressed the cloth over Henry's face again, retrieving the knife from his belt with his other hand.   
Another long moment passed and Henry was barely holding onto his consciousness when a cold blade pressed firmly against his neck. Joey spoke briefly in Latin, then dug in hard. Every nerve screamed for Henry to do something to stop the pain, but he was unable to move.

The last thing he got to see was Joey's face, deadpan, no feeling at all.

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, I'm accepting prompts for these two! Help a guy out maybe?


End file.
